Location Intelligence Set To Change The Face Of Recruitment

‘Location Intelligence’ is about to be the ‘Next Big Thing’. Nothing new in that I hear you say, and I would have to agree, but what is new is the fact it’s about to enter the world of recruitment.

The earliest known use of Location Intelligence was in 1854, when Dr John Snow plotted the location of cholera cases in Soho on a map and used clusters to identify the source as a public well next to a leaking cesspit. The pump handle was removed and the outbreak was stopped in its tracks.

John Snow Pub on Broadwick Street, Soho, with original water pump

In the 90s, Geographical Information Systems were the preserve of large utilities and government departments. However, with the ubiquity of Sat Nav, GoogleMaps and the use of visualisation tools like Tableau for info-journalism, mapping is quite literally ‘back on the map’.

One factor playing its part in the enablement of a new wave of Location Intelligence is Big Data.

But like any data, Big Data only gives meaningful answers if you ask good questions. Maps are one way of asking questions of complex, unstructured data and communicating the answers in ways that create insight and wisdom.

So how does all this help recruiters?

Back in the 80s, the then Conservative Employment Secretary, Norman Tebbit, famously told his audience ‘my father got on his bike to look for a job’ and advised the nation to do likewise. Since this time, we have become an increasingly mobile workforce, but the hard fact is that the majority of jobs come with a measure of locational constraint and let’s face it most employers would prefer not to have to spend their resources on expensive relocation packages.

Now we have the ability to reach both active and passive candidates living just a few miles away.

Through specialist locational mapping not only will recruiters have the ability to save money, they will no longer need to waste their valuable time filtering out candidates who they feel are ‘geographically challenged’, or hiring a weary commuter.

Picture the scene

Duncan, the Recruitment Manager at The Glasgow Bank is taking a brief on a vacancy with Joyce, the Head of Credit Risk:

“Where are you going to find this Credit Risk Analyst?” Joyce demands, “We’re exposed now that Anne is leaving and I need this post filled in the next 30 days!”

Duncan has done his homework and he pulls out his tablet.

“I’ve used a tool to create a heat map of the density of candidates within commuting distance of our Glasgow HQ. Take a look, you can see for yourself where they are all based. We used the CVs of your team members including Anne’s to build a search of related terms and we can reach 1200 candidates who are highly matched, some working for our top competitor.

About 50% of these are passive candidates so a Job Board ad wouldn’t reach those. We rejected bundles of CVs and trawled LinkedIn last time, missed your SLA and then ended up paying a hefty agency fee. My sourcing plan is to launch a campaign to email all these candidates individually this afternoon and invite them to apply, the analytics forecast that we should get around 14 highly-matched applicants in the next seven days.”

Now imagine you’re Archie, a rare stellar Credit Risk Analyst visiting Glasgow for a meeting that same afternoon. Your smartphone vibrates in your pocket, you’ve received a personal email:

“Hi Archie, this is Duncan at The Glasgow Bank, we’re currently looking for Credit Risk Analysts with your experience. You may not be looking for a new opportunity but if you’re in the area and free this afternoon, why not drop in for an informal chat?”

Can your talent attraction process do that?

I believe Location Intelligence is about to change the face of recruitment forever.

Discover more about MapUp, the new Location Intelligence app from Big Data recruitment company JobsTheWord, at the CIPD Conference in Manchester.More here